title: Laryngoscope plastic blades in scheduled general anesthesia patients: a comparative randomized study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare two brands of disposable plastic laryngoscope blades, Vital View plastic blades and Heine XP plastic blades, with the reusable Heine Classic+ Macintosh metal blades.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective randomized, controlled, single-blinded study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Operating room of a university-affiliated hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  519 patients without criteria for predicted difficult intubation, undergoing scheduled surgery during general anesthesia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients were randomized to three groups according to laryngoscope blade brand.
  
  
  METHODS
  Difficult tracheal intubation was evaluated by the Intubation Difficulty Scale (IDS) (IDS > 5 = procedure involving moderate to major difficulty).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The percentage of intubations with an IDS > 5 was 3.1% in Group M (metal blade group), 5.1% in Group V (Vital View plastic blade group), and 10.0% in Group H (Heine plastic blade group). A significant difference was noted between Groups M and H (P = 0.02) but not between Groups M and V.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Intubation may be more challenging when using Heine XP plastic blades but no significant difference exists between Vital-View plastic blades and Heine Classic+ metal blades.
authors.affiliation: Département d'Anesthésie-Réanimation-SAMU93-EA 3409, Hôpital Avicenne, 93009 Bobigny, France. michel.galinski@avc.aphp.fr
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Galinski
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Catineau
authors.forename: Fatima
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rayeh
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Muret
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Ciebiera
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Plantevin
authors.forename: Arnaud
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Foucrier
authors.forename: Loic
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tual
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Combes
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Adnet
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000768:Anesthesia, General / Q000379:methods*; D004209:Disposable Equipment; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal / Q000379:methods*; D020704:Laryngoscopes; D007828:Laryngoscopy / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008670:Metals; D008875:Middle Aged; D010969:Plastics; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016037:Single-Blind Method
chemical_list: D008670:Metals; D010969:Plastics